A Look Back

∎The New England Telephone Co. today announced that its district offices, now in the Holyoke dial building, will be relocated about June 1 in a new, modern office building on Pleasant Street on the site of the present Gas-Kart Raceway.

∎The urgency of the need for a new superhighway in this area was brought home again yesterday. Traffic through Northampton backed up from the Pleasant, Main and King Street intersection as far back as the New Haven underpass on several occasions during the day, as returning weekend skiers made the homeward trip.

25 Years Ago

∎Construction of the downtown parking garage is expected to begin sometime this month now that the City Council yesterday narrowly approved an $8 million bond authorization for the project.

∎An extensive spill of microscopic, radioactive particles at the Pro Corp., termed “no health hazard” by company management, is being cleaned up under the supervision of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The particles spewed out of defective anti-dust devices.

10 Years Ago

∎The results of the final MCAS retest before graduation for the class of 2003 are in. Locally, 1,515 high school seniors have passed the exam, while 45 failed, and likely won’t get a diploma in June. That means 97 percent of the seniors in area public high schools have passed the test the state now requires for a high school diploma.

∎After wrestling with a series of construction delays that have pushed back the opening of the storefront for his custom-home electronics installation business, Tripod Audio owner Terry Culhane said he hopes to have his Bridge Street showroom open in April.